Eavesdropping
by FullWolfMoonGirl
Summary: Set during season 2 just after Lie to Me, Oz listens in as a conversation between Xander and Willow takes place. Centered around explaining what Xander had to say about Willow letting Angel into her bedroom in Lie to Me.


Oz was in the stacks late one afternoon. It wasn't his style, but he wanted to find a book on ancient musicians. The school was fairly empty this time of day, so he was surprised to hear a door swing open. Voices followed.

"Why does it bother you so much, Xander?" The girl sounded agitated.

"Look, I'm just saying...wait a minute. I don't need to apologize here, Willow!"

Oz peeked around the end of the stacks and saw a tall, dark-haired boy and... _Her_! The girl of his dreams. Willow. He smiled slightly.

Normally he wouldn't do this, but he felt the urge to remain hidden. He ducked back behind the stacks and listened.

"You're acting like...Like, I don't know what, but why are you acting like this?"

"Gee, I don't know. Could it be because...You invited Angel into your _bedroom_!" Xander's voice boomed.

Oz blinked. Who was this Angel?

He heard Willow's loud sigh. "Xander, you've been in my room plenty of times! What's wrong with that?" She sounded perfectly confident.

Although he couldn't see himself, Oz knew his skin must have paled. Xander had been in Willow's bedroom. Plenty of times! He'd only seen her twice before, but he hadn't thought she was that kind of girl at all. He hoped he was missing something here.

"You're comparing me to bicentennial boy!"

Oz scowled, thinking the only interpretation he could come up with, was that this Angel guy was born in 1976. That would make him at least twenty-one years old. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Well, he's a lot neater then you, and he-" Xander interrupted her.

"Oh no you don't! Will, I'm your best friend! We're bosom buddies. . . Only without any bosoming. When I come over we watch TV, surf the net. I invade your fridge. You make me cookies. I braid your hair. I even let you braid mine before! Now, tell me, did Angel let you braid his hair?"

Despite this unsettling news about boys in her bedroom, Oz smirked at the picture of Xander with short braids throughout his hair.

Willow's voice came back in mock seriousness.

"And you looked very sweet with mini-braids for bangs. By the way, you never returned my hair ribbons."

Oz bit down on his lip to keep from chuckling out loud.

"That's not the point here!" Xander exploded.

"Yeah." Willow's voice came back quietly. "The point is, you don't trust me. You-You think I'd invite Angel in and do what, exactly?"

There was an uncomfortable silence before he responded.

"It's not you I don't trust. It's him."

"Xander, I was helping him! He needed my computer skills. Ford was obviously up to something not good."

"But that's what Buffy's for! What's with dead boy using her friends anyway? S_he's _the Slayer!" Xander growled.

Dead boy? Slayer? Oz arched an eyebrow.

"Oh," Willow's voice took on an odd tone. "I suppose that he should have just went to Buffy and explained that he needed to spy on her friend. And. . . Oh, but it wasn't about jealousy or anything. I'm sure that would have went over well."

"OK. But, still, why'd he come to_ you_?"

Oz couldn't tell if Xander was jealous or just very protective of Willow. Hoping theirs was nothing more than a strong friendship, he settled on both.

"Why_ not _me? I'm the net girl. Wouldn't you come to me if you needed help with research? And I did find some things out. Like how Ford's school records weren't even there."

"But, Willow, you let him into your room in the middle of the night. That's crazy!"

Oz drug a hand lightly through his hair. Even if this Angel guy simply needed a fellow spy to help him out, there were few reasons a guy in his twenties needed to be in a teenage girl's bedroom in the middle of the night. He wasn't too comfortable thinking about it.

Willow let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, Ha! And I suppose he could have come on over after school in the sunny sunshine. Gee, if he didn't burst into flames on the way over, maybe my mom would let him stay for milk and cookies and we could work on History homework together, huh?"

The things Willow was now saying didn't seem to fit into any kind of rational Oz could understand, though he sure was trying!

"History homework!" Xander scoffed, ignoring the rest of what she'd said. "He_ is_ history. The un-living version."

Again with the odd things being said that Oz couldn't place. It got quiet again for a few minutes. So quiet Oz was afraid to breathe too heavily. He might be heard.

"Look," Xander spoke up again, surprising Oz by sounding almost apologetic.

"I'm just saying, it's not safe. He may be all soul-having, but he's still dangerous."

Dangerous? In what way was this Angel guy dangerous and did Oz need to track him down for in any way, hurting Willow?

"I don't think he's- " Willow started.

"I've seen him eyeing your neck, Will." Xander interrupted.

This time Oz couldn't help it. He poked his head around the stacks and stared.

"Xander..." Willow warned warily, looking across the table at Xander.

"When he looks at you, I swear he's salivating!" Xander looked indignant.

"Xander, Angel's not like that. He's not about to attack anyone. He was a perfect gentleman when he was over. Besides, Buffy has great instincts and she's perfectly happy with him. They make a cute couple." Xander rolled his eyes.

Oz liked how rational she was. She was able to be logical and sweet at the same time. Not to mention she had just eased his mind a great deal. So, Angel was with Buffy. Buffy was that blonde girl who was always getting into trouble. But more importantly, it meant that he didn't have any designs on Willow. Oz felt himself relax.

"Fine! Just don't come crying to me when you end up with a bite-sized hickey-" This time Willow interrupted.

"XANDER!"

Startled, Oz was afraid he was going to give himself away when he nearly toppled over. Then he saw Buffy enter the library. Any noise he had made was covered up by her entrance. He ducked back behind the stacks.

"What's with the yelling, Will?" She asked casually.

Oz tried to imagine Willow glaring at Xander, but he hadn't seen her seriously glare at anyone as of yet.

"Oh, he's just worried about hickeys." She quickly dismissed the question.

It was clear she didn't want to upset Buffy by letting her know that Xander had a problem with her current boyfriend. Oz wanted to tell her how amazing she was. One day, he decided, he would do just that.

"What!" Oz could hear the laugher in Buffy's voice and felt a grin slide onto his face.

"Let's move on." Xander hurried to say. "So, Buff, are you up for some Bronzin' tonight?"

Reluctantly, Oz headed toward the exit at the back of the stacks. He was late for band practice which tended to put Devon in an annoying mood. But the grin remained in place as he started up his van. Willow seemed even more amazing then he previously imagined. She was also shrouded in mysteries. Oz had a lot of unanswered questions that intrigued him. But he didn't mind. He knew he would find the answers eventually. He could wait.


End file.
